Tag: NFL

The Raiders have plenty of mountain left to climb. Las Vegas finished as the worst team in the NFL in 2025, failing tremendously to deliver on the hopeful expectations that came with the arrivals of Super Bowl-winning coach Pete Carroll and quarterback Geno Smith.

Both are now gone. In their places are new head coach Klint Kubiak and Cousins, with space saved for Fernando Mendoza, the Heisman Trophy-winning QB from Indiana whom most everyone expects the Raiders to select with the No. 1 pick of the 2026 draft on April 23.

At the NFL’s Annual League Meeting last week in Phoenix, Kubiak revealed he’d prefer to enter 2026 with a veteran atop his quarterback depth chart in order to provide his offense with a mature leader capable of guiding the unit into their new world. A few days later, Cousins agreed to a deal with the Raiders, addressing Kubiak’s desire under center by handing him the veteran he sought, one who is willing to execute Kubiak’s vision.

“Going into Year 15 now, [I’m] trying to set a standard in the locker room,” Cousins said. “Just trying to be an available resource to everybody in the locker room that would want to ask questions or want to learn about what my journey has been like in this league, I’d love to help them anyway that I can.”

For Cousins, he could have explored a few options as a free agent following Atlanta’s decision to part with him earlier this offseason. His chances of a return to Minnesota dried up when the Vikings signed Kyler Murray shortly after the Cardinals released him, and once the Jets acquired Smith via trade with the Raiders, that landing spot disappeared, too.

Las Vegas became the best fit for Cousins, giving the Raiders an immediate starting option to throw into the lineup. More importantly, Cousins provides Kubiak — for whom Cousins played in Minnesota, where Kubiak served as QBs coach and offensive coordinator from 2019-2021 — with an experienced veteran who can handle the duties of the job while the Raiders get Mendoza acclimated and prepared to eventually take the field.

“I think it starts with the coaching staff. I was really excited to be able to work with coaches I worked with before,” Cousins told the team’s Amber Theoharis. “I had some of my best years playing with them.”

Cousins also spoke to the opportunity to play with up-and-coming players like tight end Brock Bowers and running back Ashton Jeanty as part of the appeal to heading to the desert.

“I think it’s a team that has a lot of young talent and that they’re building something special, and I want to be a part of that,” Cousins said.

Attendance for this portion of Miami’s offseason workouts is voluntary. The Dolphins hold a mandatory minicamp June 2-4.

The Dolphins clearly are planning on Achane being part of the rebuild. Last week at the Annual League Meeting, Sullivan said he wasn’t shopping Achane.

“There is zero effort on my end to move Achane,” Sullivan said, adding that Achane was a “building block” and that signing him to a contract extension was a team “priority” in the coming weeks or months.

A third-round pick by Miami in 2023, Achane has run for 3,057 yards and 22 touchdowns and caught 172 passes for 1,277 yards (7.4-yard average) and 13 TDs in 44 games (36 starts).

Achane’s 5.7-yard rushing average led the NFL last season and his 1,350 rush yards were the fifth-most in the league.

The 28-year-old wants a new contract, and the lack of recent traction that would vault Lawrence into the upper echelon of his position led to the trade request.

Harbaugh said Tuesday that he spoke to Lawrence when he initially got hired, but hadn’t had any recent talks with the three-time Pro Bowler. The veteran coach added that he wasn’t surprised by the maneuver from Lawrence’s camp, noting that it’s just the business of sports.

“We know it’s pro football and these things happen every year,” he said. “Pretty much every team. So, not surprised by it. Saw it coming a few weeks back and had good conversations with Dexter’s agent, Joel Segel, and understood what they were thinking, and this is where we’re at. So, we’ll try to work through it and see where we can get done.”

It would behoove the Giants to work things out with Lawrence. He’s a pivotal part of the New York defensive front. Big Blue struggled mightily last season when he was off the field, and there is no obvious replacement on the roster if they do trade him. Harbaugh understands the dynamics.

“I don’t know if granting the request is really the right way to say it, because it doesn’t really work that way,” he said. “It’s not like a Christmas gift. It’s business. The business is to be the best football team we can be.”

The best defense the Giants could put on the field would include Lawrence. Bridging the gap on an extension is the business they must handle.

Sexy Dexy no longer wants to dance in New York.

Contract negotiations between Big Blue star Dexter Lawrence haven’t progressed to the defensive tackle’s liking, leading to Monday’s news that he’s seeking a trade from the only team he’s played for in seven seasons.

The timing of the leaked news is calculated, as the Giants are set to report Tuesday for the start of voluntary workouts under new head coach John Harbaugh. It’s a shot across the bow of the New York front office to up their offer for the stud DT.

Lawrence is coming off a down season, registering .5 sacks and 31 tackles in 17 games, ending his streak of three straight Pro Bowls. However, he remains a penetrating force who can completely change the complexion of any defense. Lawrence’s ability to get upfield and discombobulate the pocket is a talent matched by few. Even in a down year, he remained a top-10 interior pass rusher. The tape remains top-tier.

Lawrence has two years remaining on his contract with base salaries of $18.5 million in 2026 and $18 million in 2027, with no guaranteed money left. The $22.5 million per year average on his last contract places him 11th among interior defenders. Even entering his age-29 season, he’s worth a pay raise. The desire for a new contract, however, would curtail any compensation the Giants could get back in a trade.

Every team in the NFL could use a player of Lawrence’s caliber. Every team. But let’s run through a list of some ideal landing spots for the Pro Bowler.

Trevor Lawrence is coming off a bounce-back season in his first campaign under coach Liam Coen, finishing fifth in MVP voting and fourth on the Comeback Player of the Year ballot.

In Year 2, Coen sees a chance for the former No. 1 overall pick to hit a higher ceiling.

During a recent interview with SiriusXM NFL Radio, the Jags coach said before he was hired last year, he could see from the tape that Lawrence was a “tough” QB with upside, but after a year with the passer, he sees a chance to reach new heights.

“Look, four new systems, multiple different head coach situations, OCs, whatever it is. Go throughout the season, and you find out, I mean, doesn’t miss a single practice, doesn’t miss a single throw in practice, played the whole season. Obviously, MVP finalist, Comeback Player of the Year finalist, did some great things,” Coen said. “There is so much room to continue to improve.”

Lawrence finished the season with 4,007 yards passing with 29 TDs and 12 INTs, leading the Jags to an AFC South title. The QB got off to a wobbly start, but he and the Jags hit their stride midway through Coen’s first season, winning seven straight games to complete the division comeback. Lawrence threw for 250-plus yards in each of the final four regular-season games and had 11 passing TDs to one INT over that stretch.

In the Jags’ Wild Card loss to the Bills, Lawrence had a few rough spots, including two game-altering interceptions, but also battled Jacksonville back when previous clubs would have drifted into the abyss. His two fourth-quarter touchdowns gave Jacksonville brief leads they couldn’t hold against Josh Allen. While Lawrence & Co. fell short against an MVP quarterback, that ability to battle has Coen excited for what could be ahead as the QB continues to develop in the system.

“I think that’s what we’re excited about attacking, but when you start with A) humility and B) toughness, mentally and physically, I think you can do a lot with a quarterback,” he said. “We spent a lot of time in San Francisco at the Super Bowl going through that week, and I got to see a different side of him, hang out with him in a different lens, and I’m really excited about working with Trevor again this year.”

There is little doubt at this point that Coen can coax excellent play from the quarterback position. We’ve seen quarterbacks need to find the right system to excel. Oftentimes, that takes them bouncing around the league – i.e., Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold. In Lawrence’s case, the right offense came to him. If the QB can continue to build on his improvements and protect the ball as he did during the Jags stretch run, there is a lot to like about Jacksonville’s future.

The previous administration in Atlanta left the current regime lacking. The Falcons head toward the 2026 NFL Draft with just five picks to rebuild a team that hasn’t been to the postseason since 2017.

New GM Ian Cunningham isn’t pouting about the situation but would like to add more if the opportunity arises.

“For us, it’s one of those things where we have to go into this thinking we only have five picks. That’s worst case,” Cunningham said via the team’s official website. “If we come out of it with just five picks, we come out of it with just five picks. We are already looking at different ways to potentially manufacture some more. But if it doesn’t work out, it doesn’t work out.”

The Falcons currently have a second-round pick, a third-rounder, fourth, sixth and a seventh-rounder. Atlanta did not receive any compensatory selections.

The ousted brass traded away this year’s first-round pick to the Los Angeles Rams for the right to draft James Pearce Jr., who has recently been charged with three felonies and a misdemeanor. They shipped their fifth-rounder to Philadelphia last year to select third-rounder Xavier Watts. The fourth and sixth round picks are also lower after the trade for safety Sydney Brown last month.

The lack of draft picks led to Cunningham and crew being active in free agency, particularly the second and third waves, signing 17 new players. Most of those were of the depth/rotational variety to make up for the lack of picks to be used on depth this season.

“That’s the hand that we were dealt,” Cunningham said, “but we are going to try to figure out ways moving forward to create more opportunities, more swings at the plate moving forward.”

Cunningham can’t change the past. He signed on in Atlanta, knowing the draft capital had been depleted. If the opportunity arises to move down the board during the draft to recoup more picks, the GM would jump at the chance. In the future, he would like to ensure Atlanta isn’t in a position to make five draft picks, preferring to build through the draft rather than free agency.

“Moving forward, you don’t want to live in that space,” Cunningham said of the Falcons’ activity in free agency. “You would like for your draft picks to eventually take the place of those things, but this was a year where we had to attack it this way.”

With offseason programs beginning this week for teams led by new coaches, Lawrence seems to digging in, refusing to report to the start of voluntary workouts while asking for a fresh start elsewhere.

A first-round pick out of Clemson in 2019, Lawrence has earned three Pro Bowl nods from 2022-2024 and two second-team All-Pro selections, proving himself as an interior force for a Giants club that has enduring plenty of struggles during his career. New York identified Lawrence as a key pillar of the Giants’ roster construction when they signed him to a four-year, $90 million extension in 2023, but it seems as if they cannot land in the same ballpark when it comes to Lawrence’s next pay day.

Squarely in his prime at 28 years old and with two years remaining on his existing contract, Lawrence should command a significant return. We’ll see if his trade request prompts Schoen to answer calls on Lawrence’s availability, or if it motivates the GM to move closer toward another extension with the hefty interior defender.